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Episode Recap: "Inconceivable"
Well I hope you enjoyed tonight's episode folks because unless this writers' strike ends soon that's the last new one you are going to get for awhile.
I think we are all in agreement that this has been the lamest season in SVU history. The biggest problem has been with the writing, Not only has the dialogue been unrealistic at times, but in several cases it wasn't true to the characters. We've seen both Benson and Stabler do things that totally contradict actions from earlier episodes. Also we miss John Munch.
I'm not sure how much of this new direction is Executive Producer's Neal Baer's fault or if the blame goes to the top of the NBC food chain with boss Ben Silverman. If Ben is tinkering with a winning formula because of possible ageism you guys are going to have to make a stink. Or you can kiss Richard Belzer goodbye for good.
As if further proof is needed that the show has fallen on hard times tonight's Boston Legal also featured a storyline about a theft from sperm bank.
Oh yes, let's not forget the show's other major problem which was all too evident right with the opening tease... what's with the acting? L&O used to get actors from Broadway...some of these extras and guest stars wouldn't be able to land a spot on a daytime soap. Speaking of which, one of tonight's guest stars was former General Hospital and Northern Exposure star Janine Turner.
Also on board was Mark Moses from Desperate Housewives. (I thought they were fine by the way).
So if Stan never wanted kids why would he have fertilized the eggs in the first place? I can understand not wanting to have kids with his ex-wife, but they made it sound like he never wanted them in the first place.
Gabrielle Anwar from Scent of a Woman had an interesting reason for wanting her embryo saved: cancer treatments left her infertile. Something similar happened to a friend of mine many years ago. I was heartened by the detectives' efforts to
recover them even if I doubted it would happen that way in real life. (My friend had a healthy son.)
I am pretty liberal so I was sympathetic with the couple who had the disabled child using a screening process so their next child wouldn't be similarly afflicted (tough issue, tough decision) but when she said the egg was from her 8 year old disabled daughter she lost me. Evidentially I am not as liberal as I thought.
Also a tough spot for Olivia/Marisha Hargitay talking about being a mom over 40. Mariska was 42 when she gave birth to her son with actor/husband Peter Hermann. Fortunately it all worked out in real life. I am sure though that Mariska didn't have to dig too far to come up with the emotions for this scene.
As someone whose day job is television (check out TV Guide Close Up) I can tell you having the police march onto the set and take away your guest... gold. Best thing that happened to that news show all year, I guarantee it.
Now if the couple truly believed that life does begin at conception then its hard to follow that they would put all these babies life at risk. Publicity or not. Would they kidnap a group of babies and hope they were found before they died?
Best line tonight. This exchange between Detectives Tutuola and Munch:
Tutuola: "Since when did you become Super Tech?
Munch: ""Since you dumped me for Lake."
I thought Munch had become the office receptionist. At least they are acknowledging it.
To be honest I was wondering about the woman in Iraq who stored her eggs for her husband. If she died over there how logical would it be for her husband to hire a surrogate or have another woman have his wife's baby? Its not like he could have the child without another woman's help. Not the same for a woman whose husband dies I'm sorry to say.
Although I am sure he is grieving the loss of his wife (and her eggs) would he really shoot the guy responsible? Would that happen in real life or is it a a dramatic device to get one more "bang" for your buck?
Despite the griping it was one of the better episodes this season. At least everyone was in it and that counts!
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Jan 23, 2008 2:06 AM
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Munch's joke about the sketch of the victim made me laugh out loud. Glad to see more of him than Det. Lake in this episode.
Oh, and I'm glad the word adoption was mentioned at least once in this episode....I had trouble accepting the urgency or importance of the missing embryos....if you want a kid and can't conceive naturally adopt one!
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Jan 23, 2008 2:23 AM
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I agree with you cournyj Munch's sketch of the victim was hysterical. And I love the lines between Munch and Fin. Those 2 needs to be partners again.
As for this episode. I also didn't care for it. The freezing of the 8 y/o eggs was just so wrong. I hope the next few episodes are better this season.
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Jan 23, 2008 4:25 AM
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I think NBC has been paying attention to the blogs: they atleast tried to justify the non-SVU nature of the case by billing it as a "special favor" from some cop. They also attempted to justify Munch's absence by saying that Fin likes Chase better. Both lame excuses, but excuses nevertheless.
It was definately one of the better episodes, but it had the same problem the "Torture in Iraq" episode had: way, way too preachy. Aarg.
And what was Olivia's "secret" the promos bragged about? That she wanted to be a mother? Wow, what a shocker. /sarcasm
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Jan 23, 2008 7:01 AM
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I like to watch SVU but I am sick of the shows total liberal story lines along with always making people of faith look like a bunch of crazies. Come on! Where is their sense of fair play.?
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Jan 23, 2008 7:27 AM
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mpulliam4, I couldn't agree with you more. In the early days of (all) of the L&O shows, while there was always a liberal leaning...they were excellent at giving both the left and the right a fair shake.
Not any more! Admittedly, I am a conservative (moderate on some issues) but I feel exactly as mpulliam4...why is it that the liberals have their heads on straight and the conservatives are the wack jobs...
How about a little 'fair and balanced' back on L&O...
...just have to say THANK GOD for Munch...the PTB should pay attention! Bring back Munch...lose lake!
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Jan 23, 2008 8:42 AM
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I watched the episode from a different angle.
I personally have lived through the nightmare of infetility treatments/frozen embryos. And I think SVU did a excellent job handling the topic. The scene where the cryo tank was found, but it was too late...Mariska did a fabulous job potraying the sadness for what it was...the loss of lives, dreams.
I personally wanted to smack Elliot upside the head with his comment "I dunnno...I had my kids the old fashioned way." So smug. So 'entitled.'
NO one CHOOSES to be infertile!!
Not everyone gets the luxury of being able to conceive when they want to (or in Stabler's case, even when they DIDN'T want to!)
Very arrogant. I was so glad Olivia told him to 'shut up' and also called him an idiot later. He deserved that.
Why would Stan agree to fertilize his wife's eggs, even if he didn't really want children? Oh come on, like no man has ever gone ahead and agreed to have a baby in a less than stellar marriage...hoping it will make things better? (and it usuall doesn't work!)That wasn't a stretch at all.
I agree..I think the plotline that the embryos were 'stolen' to create media attention...to get the embryos 'adopted'...fell a little short.
That couple was directly at fault for killing those potential lives...isn't that exactly what they were fighting for?
The ending surprised me. I had forgotten about the soldier in Iraq who had frozen her eggs. Again...I didn't find that shocking that she would save a part of herself so her husband could have their child. Surrogacy is very real, children are born that way more than the average person realizes.
(and Traci, he might not have had to 'hire' one...wife may have had a sister or friend who had already agreed to do this for them, in the event.)
Again...I think if you've walked a mile down the road of reproductive medicine...and endured the emotional rollercoaster of IVF, you would see that this episode was well done. I think it was the best all season (and yeah...we got our Munch too!)
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Jan 23, 2008 8:59 AM
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SVU used to be my favorite Law & Order show. No mas. I don't know what happened this year but I have to agree with you...this is the lamest season.
Last season, I kinda gave up on Law & Order b/c I didn't like the new female detective but now that Jeremy Sisto is on, L&O is now back on my "must see" list and SVU is slowly falling from this list.
An egg from an 8 year old?! WTH?!
Maybe SVU can get their act together during this stupid writers' strike. I hope for a vast improvement when SVU returns.
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Jan 23, 2008 9:25 AM
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I agree that this has been the worst season of SVU ever! I watch all the L&O's since their beginnings and this one has definitely been the worst this year. Dick Wolf needs to wise up and realize that not everyone who watches the show is as liberal as he is and he is turning people off the show. After the Torture in Irag story, he lost me completely. Guess I will just watch all the reruns on USA from when the show used to be good and deal with actual victims stories. I don't watch TV for political reasons, just entertainment! I don't care what Hollywood thinks!
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Jan 23, 2008 11:34 AM
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I am surprised no one mentioned anything about the 8yr old. After being introduced I thought they would have moved on to her story, but Stabler said let it go. It is a ripped from the headlines story as well. Very sad.
Yea it wasn't the best episode. My favorite parts were with Munch of course!!
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Jan 23, 2008 11:35 AM
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I have been disappointed all year with SVU. The actors had good chemistry and without Munch this year it is just not working. That character is a staple on the show. No one can do paranoid conspiracy theories lick Munch. I like the Lake character, but not at the expense of Munch. I have loved that character since Homicide.
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Jan 23, 2008 11:35 AM
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While most of the eps haven't been stellar, SVU is still a "must-see" for me, but there's one thing I've learned, NBC (and Entertainment Tonight) are MASTERS in the promo dept. They hype something only to fall flat on their faces. So don't get overly excited about the promos...99% don't live up to the hype.
Anyhoo, I was expecting Liv's "secret" to be that a) she had donated her eggs while in college, b) she was already pregnant....I guess the "secret" was that she had tried adoption, not that she wanted to be a mom. We already knew that. I honestly thought that she was going to tell El (while waiting for the elevator) -- "I'm pregnant" leaving a stunned Elliot behind! LOL!!
Also, dear sweet Elliot deserved to be called an idiot and MUCH more with his stupid comment about having kids the "normal" way. WTF El?? Some people have fertility issues they can't help. How about gay couples? They need a little push from "science" to bring their kids into the world. And speaking as someone who's thinking about having kids the "not so normal" kind of way, I was cheering Liv all the way on this one.
Two more things: a) I'm as liberal as can be, if I lean more to the left, I'll fall over, but the eggs of an 8 yr old??? Another WTF? While I'm not sitting in judgment -- to each their own -- it made me cringe a bit. Seriously people!
b) GET RID OF LAKE and bring back Munch!! Puh-lease!!! I thought the best line was:
Munch: *I* could be donor 1029...
Fin: Those kids don't look like freaks to me.
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Jan 23, 2008 12:04 PM
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Nice! It was great to see the core cast back together again. (Makes you wonder when they shot this episode). The way they the main characters act when working together is awesome. The Fin & Munch dialogue. Stabler/Benson (you’re an idiot) even the look from the Caption. The cast has such a great rapport with each other that when the executives try and bring in a new character, it just does not fit. Like the Dani & Lake try. It’s hard in the real world to get a new member of a Team to jell with a group that has been together for a time. If the executives want to bring in new, they should start with a strong well-developed actor that everyone can identify with. This is not to say I anything bad about Munch, I love his acting. The show has developed his charter so well that they can do so much with him, his past working in Baltimore and his underdeveloped personal life.
OK now the “Inconceivable” episode, again core cast awesome, guest stars weak, what’s with the Catholic Stabler {Olivia I’ll support you in any decision you make} I think not.
The using child’s eggs for another child, a little to far fetched for me.
In this episode we had the fighting divorcing couple, little person, the cancer survivor, the off the wall couple, the protesters, the war issue what ever happened to the average couple?
When the strike ends, I wonder if they will develop the baby issue with Olivia.
If this ends up being the season finale, it’s not a bad way to end. There’s hope for next season. We have seen the show as an outstanding drama series be reduced to almost soap opera-ish show. Now it looks like things are heading in the right direction. We’ll all have to wait and see.
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Jan 23, 2008 1:27 PM
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Traci, since this is the last we'll see of "SVU" in a long while, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you for not only your longstanding support of Richard Belzer's character, John Munch, but also for keeping the letter writing campaign information where people can see it and act upon it.
While I was glad it was finally acknowledged in an episode that Munch was dumped by Fin, left behind basically, it also made me wonder if this would be the last I'd see of Belz on the show. It has to ageism, since no one's owned up to anything -- not NBC, not Belz's manager, neither Wolf nor Baer. It's very, very hard to see such a talent be discriminated against in this way, week after week.
The writing for this ep was a little better, especially when compared to last week's cringingly badly written "Unorthodox." While I had expected an hour of Benson crying, at least I was pleasantly surprised to see a plot (more or less) and legitimate reasons for Benson's melancholy. (Even if she did get her feelings accidentally tromped on while Munch was being Munch, joking around pointedly.)
Both Stabler and Benson were in character, Elliot was trying to be supportive in the only ways he knew how, and we had all the weird suspects in the case to make us either think or cringe. (Harvesting your child's eggs? No. You lost my empathy and sympathy right then, writers. That was truly 'squick factor.') I did feel for the woman who wanted her baby to be a LP, because that made sense to me.
The ending, while there for the usual "moral" Wolf and Baer smack us over the head with each week, was caculatedly poignant but in many ways a waste. As you pointed out, why would the husband of the fallen soldier want to be in the position of having to use a surrogate in the first place?
Like many events -- both in front of and behind the scenes at SVU -- nothing here completely made sense in the long run.
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Jan 23, 2008 2:12 PM
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I guess I disagree with most of you. I thought this season of L&O:svu was by far the best. They've kept me on the edge of my seat the whole season.
Nancy Q
Murphy, N.C.
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Jan 23, 2008 3:15 PM
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Hi Fellow SVU Fans,
I just wanted to let you guys know I resigned from the blog last week. The bosses at TV Guide want me to take on fewer responsibilities so I had to let it go.
Thanks for all your support. I am sure the great web guys are looking for a suitable replacement as we speak.
Cheers
Thank you for the information on Richard Belzer's episodes being cut. I was very irritated over the situation, since I really miss seeing Sgt. Munch and want him back on the show ASAP. On ALL the episodes.
I'm starting a letter campaign, encouraging all Belzer (John Munch) fans to write in and voice their wish for him to be included in every episode.
Please send your letters to:
Wolf & Baer
SVU
Chelsey Piers
Pier 62/Suite 305
New York, NY 10011
To further show Belz how much we miss him on the show, please e-mail a copy of your letter to his manager:
Eric Gardner
Panacea Entertainment
Juno@panacea-ent.com
Many thanks for taking the time to write! Let's bring Belz back to SVU!
If you want to write to the magazine re: Richard Belzer or anything else for that matter.
TV Guide
Radnor, PA
19088
or
letters@tvguide.com
Include your name address and phone number.
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